


Sparks Full of Hope

by ElinorJane



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Ezra Bridger Gets a Hug, Hera comforting her kids, Hurt/Comfort, Parental Hera Syndulla, mom Hera
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:40:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28621947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElinorJane/pseuds/ElinorJane
Summary: In which Hera is a precious SpaceMom to both her kids even though she’s dealing with her own disappointment and trauma. And once the idea popped into my head, I just had to give Hera a variation of the line “If we burn, you burn with us!” Takes place right after S1 episode “Vision of Hope”.
Relationships: Ezra Bridger & Hera Syndulla, Hera Syndulla & Sabine Wren
Comments: 4
Kudos: 26





	Sparks Full of Hope

Ezra lay under his blankets in his bunk, staring at the dark ceiling. Gall Trayvis’s words replayed in his mind.

_The original ‘voices of freedom’. You’re their son_

That mocking tone, that disgust and disdain rang in his ears.

_Where are they now? I’ll tell you, my boy. They’re gone!_

Ezra swallowed and turned over. He’d known that. He’d known it for years, known his parents were dead. Probably. Definitely.

He’d never gotten confirmation from Tseebo what had actually happened. Now he had it. They were gone.

But that mocking tone haunted him more than anything. He gritted his teeth and turned over again. How? How could Travyis have been a traitor? How could he _be_ a traitor?

It suddenly made sense why he mentioned the rumor of Master Luminara being alive. He knew good and well that it was untrue and a trap for surviving Jedi. And why the Empire had never caught him, despite his broadcasts.

Ezra sighed. He lay still for a few more minutes. Zeb snored quietly in the bunk below, either untroubled by the day’s disappointments or he’d put them behind him already. Then Ezra pushed himself up and quietly climbed down from his bunk.

He wrapped his arms around himself and trudged toward the common rooms, not really sure where he was going. But when the common room door whooshed open, he saw a light pouring into the darkness from the galley. He heard quiet clinks and the sounds of water running.

Ezra crept to the galley door and looked in. Hera stood at the sink with her back toward him, dressed in a simple red shirt and grey pants and an orange scarf wrapped around her head instead of her pilot’s cap. The kettle steamed nearby, and Hera seemed to be washing dishes, but her movements were slow as though she were tired.

She set a mug on the counter slowly, as though it were too heavy for her hand and turned. And jumped with a gasp upon seeing Ezra half-hidden by the door in the darkness. She shook her head with a small laugh as Ezra crept forward with a shamefaced grin.

“Nice to know our stealth missions are in good hands,” Hera smiled.

“What are you doing up?” Ezra asked.

“I could ask you the same question,” Hera pointed out, sounding more like her no-nonsense self. “But I couldn’t sleep and thought some tea might help.” She reached for a cabinet and got out a second mug and the box of tea they all shared. “Although we’ll need to replenish our supply soon, if we can get a few extra credits.”

Ezra stood in the middle of the galley with his arms still wrapped around himself. Hera sounded like herself again, moved more energetically. But something told him all wasn’t right. He didn’t even know how he knew. “Are you okay?”

Hera paused the briefest moment before putting the cup and tea box on the counter. She sighed and turned to face him. “I’m as disappointed as you in Trayvis.”

“How’d you know—?”

Hera gave a rumpled grin. “Lucky guess. Also, we discussed him earlier, and I figured you’d still be thinking about it.”

“Yeah.” Ezra slid into one of the seats at the table as Hera poured steaming water into the two mugs. “Is there anyone else out there? Out there we can trust?”

“Some.” Hera’s voice sounded tired again, and she sank down in the seat opposite Ezra. “Some others, yes,” she added more cheerfully. “It’s just that a member of the Senate with the courage to speak the truth…well, he could have reached a lot more people. People enough to create a formidable resistance to the Empire.”

“Yeah.” Ezra looked down at his hands. “I thought…maybe…he could pick up where my parents left off, you know… Speaking to Lothal and…”

Hera nodded slowly. “Yes. I hoped so too—before today.” She sighed and rubbed her temples with her fingertips before facing Ezra again. “But we’re not alone in this fight.”

“Aren’t we?”

Ezra jumped and turned to see Sabine in the doorway, arms crossed and posture tense. “Are we really not alone?” she demanded. “’Cause that’s not what it looks like from where I’m standing.”

“Then sit down.” Hera gestured with her chin at the galley seats, and Ezra scooted closer to the wall to make room. Sabine stalked across the galley and sat down hard in the space beside Ezra, arms still crossed. Her glare was dark, but it flashed across Ezra’s mind that maybe she’d been crying.

“Doesn’t look any different,” Sabine said as Hera got up and collected a new mug from the cabinet. “We get a vision of hope only to have it snatched away.” She swiveled in her seat to face Hera at the counter. “You told me I needed faith that there’s a bigger plan and that we won’t always be on our own! But…” she gestured vaguely and let her hand drop. “But you saw what happened! Not only is he a traitor, he was never on our side to begin with! How are we not alone? What is the bigger plan?”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that, Sabine.” Hera spoke quietly. “I still need you to trust me.”

Ezra glanced from Sabine to Hera, sensing that he was missing something. Hera poured water from the kettle into the new mug. “I’m as disappointed as both of you. If a senator had truly been on our side, speaking out publicly against the Empire…we could definitely have started that plan a lot sooner.”

Her voice sounded tired again, and Ezra shot Sabine a disapproving glare. Sabine pressed her lips together and folded her arms, staring hard at the table.

“So…is there anyone else out there?” Ezra asked hesitantly.

“Yes.” Hera’s voice was quiet but now firm. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you who those people are just yet. And they don’t have quite the influence that Senator Trayvis has—or had. But they’re out there.” She turned suddenly and looked at Ezra. “Your friend Zare, for example, collecting intel we can use that might be damaging to the Empire.”

“He’s being transferred off-world,” Ezra muttered. Hera looked surprised, but she regained her composure a second later. “Yeah, so that’s source is busted.” Ezra heaved a sigh and pushed a hand through his tousled hair. “It wasn’t much, anyway—I mean, brave of him, really brave. He ran a huge risk. But—compared to how big the Empire is and-and how many people need help and how much there is to do…it just wasn’t much, Hera. Just…just a drop in the bucket. Like my parents.”

Sabine gave Ezra a brief sympathetic look.

“You said earlier that things will get better,” Ezra said. “You sounded really sure, but…but how do you _know_?”

“Especially if people keep turning out like Trayvis,” Sabine added bitterly.

Hera studied them both for a minute. She turned and grabbed two of the mugs and brought them to the table, setting down one in front of each of them. Ezra cupped his hands around his mug and stared at the steam as Hera went back to the counter for her own mug. Sabine slid out of the seat and stood up to allow Hera room—though the opposite bench was completely empty—and Hera sat down beside Ezra. Sabine resumed her seat, and Ezra scooted closer to the wall again; it was a tight fit with the three of them on the bench.

“I know thing will get better because I won’t quit fighting.” Hera spoke in her quiet, firm tone, somehow the more resolute for its weariness. “I won’t make things easy for the Empire. They’ll have to stop their oppression and injustice, or—”

Her voice held a warning note, but she didn’t finish the thought. Ezra shuddered.

“Yeah, and if that happens?” Sabine demanded. “What then? How will things get better then?”

“Because other people won’t quit fighting either,” Hera said. “I don’t know how many or who might arise. But people inspire each other. Kanan has inspired both of you”—turning to each of them with a warm smile. “It might be slow at first. It might be slow for a long time. But I think the harder the Empire tries to stamp out every spark, they’ll fan the fire that will take themselves down.”

She spoke fiercely now, with the tired look and sound almost gone. Sabine did not look entirely convinced, but her dark glare was quietly fading.

“Yeah, but I gotta agree with Sabine,” Ezra said, “It feels like we’re on our own. Like nobody but us will stand up.”

“And we can’t do it all by ourselves, Hera,” Sabine said. “We’ll burn out.”

“It’s not the plan to take down the Empire by ourselves,” Hera said. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you more right now. But Ezra, Sabine—”

She looked at each of them again. “For now, we have to hold on to what we know is right. Trayvis or no Trayvis, we’ll stand up to the Empire’s tyranny. One day at a time, until—”

Her brave face faltered for just the faintest instant; if Ezra hadn’t seen her looking so worn down earlier, he wouldn’t have observed it.

“Until it’s enough.”

Ezra nodded slowly. He suddenly remembered his tea and took a sip. The whole job, the odds facing them, and the needs of so many people still felt overwhelming, but not quite as much as it had earlier that evening. He’d never seen Hera this vulnerable and uncertain…or not uncertain, but disappointed and hurt. It ought to have discouraged him, but it didn’t. Perhaps because she kept on in spite of it, and he knew well that if anyone could triumph over the Empire, it would be Hera and Kanan.

“Will we ever know who else is out there?” Sabine demanded.

“One day,” Hera said with a nod. “One day, yes.”

Now Sabine reached for her tea, and the three of them sat in peaceful silence for a little while. Sabine finally drained her cup and got up and put it in the sink and headed back to her cabin, murmuring good night to both of them. Hera finished her tea next and got up and went to the sink. Ezra gulped the rest of his own drink, suddenly feeling sleepy and also not wanting to sit alone at the table. He joined Hera at the sink. He set his cup on the counter; then on impulse, he flung his arms around her. Hera froze in surprise, but she quickly slipped her arms around him and hugged him back just as tightly.


End file.
